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October 29, 2012 – INDIA – Panic spread across several villages in five districts in the state due to mild tremors on Monday. People ran out of their houses when the earth shook for a few seconds. Though no casualties were reported from any of the districts, there was panic in many places in Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nalgonda, and Khammam. There were reports of tremors even at Hayathnagar in Rangareddy district around the same time. The earth quake monitoring centre at Vijayawada termed the incident as ‘very minor’ and said there was nothing to worry about. “It’s common to experience such tremors when the rocky layers of earth make adjustments within themselves,” said RDO S Venkata Rao. According to information, some houses and structures suffered minor damages due to the tremors in Nalgonda district. However, officials admitted that it was for the first time that the tremors were felt in so many villages almost simultaneously. Many of these villages which are closer to the Krishna river bank were put in the tremor zone long back. Not much damage occurred though these areas often experienced tremors. In fact, a few villages in Krishna and Guntur districts experience tremors frequently. Monday’s tremors put people on the edge because they were felt in several villages. “I was shocked when I felt the earth moving under my feet,” said Shaik Meera Hussain of Chandarlapadu village near Nandigama. He said he ran out of his house shouting that all the family members should come out. Hundreds of villagers ran out of their houses and spent nearly an hour on the streets fearing that the tremors might occur again. The quake measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale epicentered 25 km west of Narsaraopet and north of Vinukonda, according to seismologists of the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad. Seismologist D Srinagesh of NGRI said that as a result of the quake, tremors were felt at several places within 100-km radius of the epicentre. “There is nothing to worry about as it cannot be described as a big quake. However, we are monitoring the situation,” Srinagesh said. –Times of India